as a NY Ranger season ticket holder, I haven't been watching hockey for some 6 1/2 years - or so it seems (ba-da-bump)

The Lockout is going to happen - there will be no movement and the 2004-05 season will get scrapped. The drop dead date for setting schedules to play even an abbreviated season like the 1995 season is Christmas, so if they don't get a deal done by Xmas 2005 I think we will see a 2nd season go by the wayside. The American TV viewing audience won't notice because they don't watch hockey - except every 4 years for the Olympics - and the press/media won't notice because the amount of hockey coverage your average non-nhl city publication can be replaced by an ad for a strip club or an auto repair shop.

It's really going to suck......

(edited by dunkndollaz on 29.1.04 1636)5 Time 5 Time 5 Time 5 Time 5 Time Wiener of the Day Runner-up

Argh, stupid people are so frustrating. The NHL has to implement some kind of salary cap, as well as profit sharing if it wants to survive. The players union is going to have to back down, otherwise in a few years teams will start contracting, and most of those players won't be playing at all. I agree that the Union should try and get its players the money that they're worth, but to stay away from the bargaining table long enough to force a lockout is just going to hurt everyone involved.

-Jag

"I'm going to go now and demand beer money from my representative. We simply must deal with the problem of my sobriety." - PalpatineW

MH: What’s a clever way to say that I have a penis?CJ: Uh…Mark, nobody’s going to buy that shirt.MH: How about if I say that I’ve got…a…uh…?CJ: Coming up with T-Shirt ideas is hard Mark, why not leave it to the WWE marketing department.MH: I know! I’ve got it!CJ: Got what?MH: Stank! That’s Mah Stank! I’m gonna make a fortune!!CJ: “That’s Mah Stank”?MH: On the front it’ll say “Can You Smell It?” and on the back it’ll say “That’s Mah Stank”. Everybody’ll buy it because they’ll think it’s a Rock shirt.CJ: You know…you might be on to something there, sad to say.MH: I can’t wait to show mah stank to Trish.

You know, I have a feeling that Spanky didn’t quit, he was fired. Why? So they could repackage Mark Henry as “Stanky.” Think about THAT!--Matt "Excalibur05" Hocking, 1/19/04 Raw Satire

Originally posted by Big BadLet's just contract 9-10 teams and save some stress.

Contraction will happen just later than sooner - so who goes ? There are quite a few teams teetering on the edge that couldn't survive an extended shutdown - Carolina, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Florida, Atlanta and Buffalo - just to name a few - I could even see the Devils struggling - they say they draw 14,483 per game (76% capacity) but an article in today's Star-Ledger says that turnstile counts show even 20% of those fans aren't showing up and that hits the team in the parking and concession $$$$ Click Here (nj.com)

Not to sound callous but I wouldn't particularly miss any of the teams that I have listed above - hockey is a business but to me it is a lifelong passion - I just want to see them play

In my perfect world NHL, it'd be the Original Six, the other four Canadian teams, and the few American cities that have shown that they are decent hockey cities (Philly, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Long Island, Denver, San Jose). You could also argue the LA Kings just LA fans are naturally front-runners anyway, so as long as the Kings have a decent product, the people will come. Columbus I'll keep around just because hockey in Ohio is an unproven commodity yet, and they're still "northern" enough to accept it. Ideally Buffalo and Pittsburgh would be in this list, but their financial situations are just too dire.

I would shed no tears over losing Nashville, Atlanta, Dallas, Florida, Carolina, Tampa Bay (though this might be a close call), Washington, Anaheim and even New Jersey if their fans keep disguising themselves as empty seats.

Any reason why the NHL never went back to Seattle? I say 'went back' since a Seattle team actually won the Stanley Cup back in 1917.

MH: What’s a clever way to say that I have a penis?CJ: Uh…Mark, nobody’s going to buy that shirt.MH: How about if I say that I’ve got…a…uh…?CJ: Coming up with T-Shirt ideas is hard Mark, why not leave it to the WWE marketing department.MH: I know! I’ve got it!CJ: Got what?MH: Stank! That’s Mah Stank! I’m gonna make a fortune!!CJ: “That’s Mah Stank”?MH: On the front it’ll say “Can You Smell It?” and on the back it’ll say “That’s Mah Stank”. Everybody’ll buy it because they’ll think it’s a Rock shirt.CJ: You know…you might be on to something there, sad to say.MH: I can’t wait to show mah stank to Trish.

You know, I have a feeling that Spanky didn’t quit, he was fired. Why? So they could repackage Mark Henry as “Stanky.” Think about THAT!--Matt "Excalibur05" Hocking, 1/19/04 Raw Satire

What's really upsetting about this is that I've been hearing since toward the end of the 2001-2 season that this was looming at the end of the 2004 season, and that the lockout was inevitable. There has been barely any work done in the ensuing two years to get everyone on the same page.

From the way both the league and the players talk, it's obvious this salary cap is a clash of absolutes. I wonder how long this will last, and what the damage to the game will be. It took baseball a while to recover from the 1994 strike.

On the plus side, the owners may look to replacement players(cough scabs cough). Maybe I could hit the ice for the Flames.

This could make the proposed new WHA real interesting. Maybe the Canadian sports networks could start showing some of the European premier leagues to fill up time, too. I'd be down with watching the Swedish or Russian leagues. Probably a lot more Major Junior would be on the telly as well.

I'll go out on a limb and say that next winter, I'll be watching..basketball.

Speaking about the Devs specifically, I could actually see them being considered for contraction. Sports attendance is simply horrid in this state. You have the two best teams in the East in both the NBA and NHL and the attendance has been lackluster. Part of that is due to the location--East Rutherford is in the middle of nowhere. But I don't think a possible move to Newark would even be good enough. And as soon as the team hits a down period, like two people will actually go.

Anyway, wiping out next season is all but inevitable. It's a shame it has to come to this but it will. I don't think hockey will be missed enough to suffer a backlash as huge as what we saw in '94 though.

Anyway, wiping out next season is all but inevitable. It's a shame it has to come to this but it will. I don't think hockey will be missed enough to suffer a backlash as huge as what we saw in '94 though.

Wheras here in Canada, this will be the greatest disaster of all time.

MH: What’s a clever way to say that I have a penis?CJ: Uh…Mark, nobody’s going to buy that shirt.MH: How about if I say that I’ve got…a…uh…?CJ: Coming up with T-Shirt ideas is hard Mark, why not leave it to the WWE marketing department.MH: I know! I’ve got it!CJ: Got what?MH: Stank! That’s Mah Stank! I’m gonna make a fortune!!CJ: “That’s Mah Stank”?MH: On the front it’ll say “Can You Smell It?” and on the back it’ll say “That’s Mah Stank”. Everybody’ll buy it because they’ll think it’s a Rock shirt.CJ: You know…you might be on to something there, sad to say.MH: I can’t wait to show mah stank to Trish.

You know, I have a feeling that Spanky didn’t quit, he was fired. Why? So they could repackage Mark Henry as “Stanky.” Think about THAT!--Matt "Excalibur05" Hocking, 1/19/04 Raw Satire

Well, look at it thus way...due to NHLPA guidelines, only a few players can play in the American Hockey League or the East Coast Hockey League. A lot of players will be headed to the Swedish Elite League, the Swiss League, the Czech League and the Russian League...but there's only so many spots available. So what'll happen to the middling NHLers? Nothing. They'll sit at home, getting restless.

This sucks on so many levels. There's a reason we have hockey all year around up here (practically)...because Canadian football just can't fill the void.

Anyway, wiping out next season is all but inevitable. It's a shame it has to come to this but it will. I don't think hockey will be missed enough to suffer a backlash as huge as what we saw in '94 though.

Wheras here in Canada, this will be the greatest disaster of all time.

Hah, my mistake. I meant on a larger scale the American public, minus a few pro-hockey US cities, have the NHL ranked below football, baseball, college football, basketball, college basketball..and then hockey is somewhere around tennis and golf. Canada is a different story, of course, ranking hockey right above beer, igloo-building, and Bret Hart for the top ranking. It'll be a tough loss up north.